China makes largest soybean purchase yet under Trump-Xi truce

China purchased another 1.2 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans, as the trade truce between Washington and Beijing continued to offer temporary relief to agricultural exporters who have been slammed this year by retaliatory tariffs.

The sale, announced by the Agriculture Department Wednesday, is China's third major soybean purchase in the last week and one of the largest daily sales since USDA began keeping records. U.S. and Chinese officials are planning to meet face-to-face in January for the first time since President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached the short-term agreement in Buenos Aires, Argentina, earlier this month.

Story Continued Below

China made two soybean purchases last week totaling about 1.43 million metric tons.

"To restore the previous trading arrangement, we'd have to be in the 30-35 million tons on an annual basis," Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said last week after the initial sales. "But nobody buys their yearlong supply in one month."

Before last week's purchases, U.S. exporters had sold about 523,000 tons of soybeans to China in the 2018-19 marketing year, which began Sept. 1. At the same point last year, U.S. exporters had sold 21.5 million tons of soybeans to China for delivery in the 2017-18 marketing year.

USDA on Monday announced another $4.9 billion in trade relief payments to certain producers who have been hit the hardest by Trump's trade disputes. More than 75 percent of the direct trade aid is devoted to soybean growers.